Page 9 of Darken
He was telling them to back off…but they didn’t. Without turning, he handed his knives back to Gina. “Back away slowly.”
As she took the knives and did as he asked, the wolves came at them. He kicked and punched them in a violent dance, not wanting to kill them. One leaped at him, aiming for his throat, and he caught it in midair and threw it back onto his pack members.
Darken didn’t let one of them get to Gina. The fight was over in minutes as he roared and lunged at them menacingly, growling at them to keep their distance. They made some whining noises, and a couple paced back and forth behind the pack, but none of them came closer. He was bleeding from a couple bites and scratches, but his nanites would close them quickly.
Apparently, he convinced them he was the alpha predator here. Finally, he turned back to Gina.
“Are you all right?” he asked, pulling her into his arms, hugging her tightly.
“Yes,” she murmured against his chest. “That was scary.”
“I will always protect you,” he assured her, still high on his adrenaline rush. The instant he held her to him, his cock went hard, even though this was not the time or place. He dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head and said, “We should go. I think I convinced them they don’t want to mess with me.”
“Are they still following us?” she wondered as he draped his arm around her shoulders, and they continued walking.
“Yes, but they are not in stealth mode anymore.”
They walked for another hour, which made it over four hours they’d been walking. Gina said, “I’m sorry, Darken; I can’t walk anymore.”
“Don’t be, sweetheart.” He stopped and crouched in front of her. “Hop on, I will carry you.” She gripped his shoulders and made a little jump onto his back. He caught her legs under his forearms and straightened. “Hold on,” he said and set off at a jog. Dodging bushes and cacti. “There’s a rock formation in the distance with a stand of trees nearby. That’s where we’re headed. I want to get there before sunup. Don’t know if there is water there, but there is shade.”
“Okay.” She was surprised how evenly Darken could move so that she wasn’t jostled much. She glanced behind them. “The wolves are following us,” she murmured close to his ear.”
“I think that’s because I am now their pack leader,” he said. “I believe that means we are no longer prey.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I won’t let down my guard with them until I feel sure they won’t attack.”
Darken continued at a brisk jog for what seemed like hours before they reached those rocks in the distance. He was glad for the exertion to take his mind off his unrelenting desire to claim his mate.
Nothing had gone as planned when he’d learned his mate had been found, and she wanted to be his. He knew the courting rituals, though they were different after the war. They didn’t have the entertainment of prewar times.
But they could have shared a meal and conversation and maybe a walk around the village by Enclave headquarters. Then share some kisses and go back to her home and consummate their relationship. Devlin White blew that plan to hell along with his sky cycle.
Gina had left no doubt that she wanted him in the way she kissed him back. But they were shaken up pretty bad in the crash. Although his nanites had repaired his physical damage, his CPU was still offline and under repair. He didn’t bother to calculate the odds that he would reach his home before it rebooted.
His superior strength and intellect would get him through this ordeal. At the moment, he only needed to access the cyborg network to call for transport and ping a satellite for coordinates. That could only happen when his CPU came back online.
Darken stopped under the stand of trees that he’d seen from a distance. If his mountain home was actually 80 miles from where ranch hands found them, he must have crashed in Mexico, not that it mattered.
As he was about to let Gina down, he realized that she hadn’t stirred since he stopped. Her slow, even breathing told him she was probably asleep. Darken released one leg and gripped her arm, then he released her other leg, stooping to balance her on her feet so he could turn and let her down gently.
She awoke when he turned and caught her against him. “Oh!” she muttered with a start. “I can’t believe I actually fell asleep. That was surprisingly restful.” She put her arms around his neck and rested her cheek against his chest. “I’m sorry Devlin messed up our first meeting. I wanted it to be nice for you because my women friends who have cyborg husbands told me what your kind went through fighting the war.”
Gina looked up at him and caressed his cheek with her fingers. Darken was all she had hoped for and more, but she couldn’t say the words. Instead, she raised herself on her toes to kiss his lips.
With that encouragement, he lifted her up against him, so they were chest to chest and deepened the kiss. Gina moaned softly in her throat as frissons of lust surged from her nipples to her clit. She was so attracted to him; she couldn’t hold back anymore.
This was her cyborg, the male she planned to spend the rest of her life with. He risked his life to save her. Darken was her male, and she wanted him to make her his.
Gina caressed his head and shoulders as they kissed, pressing her breasts against the hard muscles of his chest. Darken cupped her buttocks in his hands and ground his erection against her mons, emitting a low growl, letting her know exactly what he wanted.
Yet, he pulled back from kissing her, turning in a slow circle, looking and listening. Then she realized he was checking out their location to ensure it was safe before going further.
Chapter Six
Darken carried her to a sheltered place between a tree with low branches and a bush, ducking under the branches. He shuffled around to make sure there were no dangerous vermin, then stepped back and straightened.
